(AFP/New Straits Times-Malaysia) With an eye on maintaining stability in Gaza as a way of shoring up its own national security, Egypt is planning a significant military deployment along its northeast border with Gaza once the Israeli pullout ends. Egypt's main concern is preventing the formation of an Islamist stronghold, according to analyst Emad Gad, an expert on Israeli affairs at Cairo's Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies. "In no way can Egypt have an Islamist state at its door," he said. "With free and democratic elections, Islamists from Hamas and Islamic Jihad could become the majority," he said, a development that could spell trouble for neighboring Egypt. "It is vital to avoid any Islamist contagion between Egypt and Gaza," said Mustafa Kamal el-Sayyid, political science professor at American University of Cairo.
2005-08-10 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive